Sunday in Highland! July 6, 2008.

Great grandmother Amy Valentine watches the kids climb the rock garden. Be careful!
Lisa and Topher try to nap!
Gina and Jonathan ponder dessert!
The Burgon clan gathers each year at Lund Optical.



Happy 4th of July! As usual, we went to the Provo parade in front of Lund Optical. Later, we hung out in Highland and ate lots of fresh corn, hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and dips. The kids played in the sprinklers. What a fund day! We love the United States of America. We love our liberties. We just finished watching the series "John Adams." We are grateful to him, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, among others, for their sacrifices and vision. We are the luckiest people in the world!

We are grateful for the Gospel, too, and appreciate the happiness that it has brought us throughout our lives. One of our newest apostles, the former chief pilot for Lufthansa airlines, recalls the difficulties of life in Germany after World War II.

"In the middle of [the] despair [of postwar Germany], my family learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and the healing message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This message made all the difference; it lifted us above our daily misery. Life was still thorny and the circumstances still horrible, but the gospel brought light, hope, and joy into our lives. The plain and simple truths of the gospel warmed our hearts and enlightened our minds. They helped us look at
ourselves and the world around us with different eyes and from an elevated viewpoint."

"God is speaking to us in a consistent voice. God will deal with all the human family equally. . . . our climate or vegetation may differ, the cultural background and language might vary, and the color of our skin could be totally different. But the universal power and blessings of the restored gospel are available to all, irrespective of culture, nationality, political system, tradition, language, economic environment, or education."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, now Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

We are so blessed to live in this great land, and don't let anyone tell you differently. This is still the land of opportunity and hope for the world. We must work and live right to keep it that way. God bless us all, and God bless America!

Have a terrific week!
Love, Mom and Dad
Robert and Shauna Valentine